Kenseth wins Food City 500 in wild finish

Matt Kenseth - Cropped

Rain delays decimated the Food City 500, which Matt Kenseth won to kick-start his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

Drivers had to sit through more than four hours of rain delays at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, before Joe Gibbs Racing's Kenseth took advantage at the right time.

Kenseth led for 47 laps en route to his fourth win at Bristol, snapping a 51-race winning drought and becoming the first polesitter at the venue to greet the chequered flag since Carl Edwards in 2008.

Jimmie Johnson rebounded from an earlier wreck to finish second, while his Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Jeff Gordon finished third.

Jamie McMurray blew a tyre on lap 474 to cause a late disruption, before an incident involving Brett Moffitt, Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr and AJ Allmendinger forced a re-start with eight laps to go.

The defending Food City 500 champion, Carl Edwards got loose soon after the re-start, hitting the wall, while Kurt Busch slammed into the number 19's rear.

Last week's winner Johnson, apparently frustrated with an early tangle with Busch, got into the rear of Jeb Burton on lap 311. Turned sideways, Burton then collided with David Ragan. 

Most cars were able to avoid the wreck, but defending NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick was unable to stop and plowed into Ragan, causing damage to Harvick's right front.

Harvick, the 2015 season's points leader, eventually retired 43 laps from the finish, despite having led for 184 circuits.

Early in the race, Brad Keselowski lost control exiting turn four on lap 19 and swept up Team Penske team-mate Joey Logano in the incident, as the number 22 hit the infield wall, suffering heavy damage to the left front.

The duo was able to get back out on the track but could not make up for lost ground. Keselowski finished in 35th, while Logano finished 40th, ending his streak of six consecutive top-10 finishes at short tracks. 

The season heads to the Richmond International Raceway next week, for the Toyota Owners 400.

Stewart-Haas Racing's Harvick (314 points) retained his lead in the season standings, from Logano (284), Truex Jr (281) and Johnson (258).

Author(s)